Linda PerksFour members of a disaster relief team from the Springfield Citadel of the Salvation Army are standing by, expecting to be called to assist soon with earthquake relief in Haiti.
Maj. Linda Perks, who serves as commanding officer with her husband, Maj. Thomas D. Perks, says her team is trained and ready. Meanwhile her sister, also an officer in the Salvation Army, is already at work in Haiti.
“We pledged our support and our personnel. We are ready to go, and we want to do our part,” Linda Perks said.
Growing up with parents who worked for the Salvation Army, she and her sister, Dr. Cindy Drummond, focused their careers with the charitable organization, Perks said. Drummond is a captain with the Salvation Army and had recently returned from work in Zimbabwe and was staying with their mother in Pennsylvania when the earthquake hit Haiti Jan. 12.
Because of the need for medical help, Drummond was called quickly, according to her sister. She is working at a clinic the Salvation Army already runs at Delmas-St. Martin, which is about 65 miles from Port-au-Prince. Because it is so difficult to get medical care in the capital city, thousands have gone to the clinic, which was not seriously damaged, Perks said.
“There is a team of 14 doctors and nurses. They are seeing 300 patients a day, and they work 7 a.m. to 11 (p.m.). They just keep going,” Perks said.
Roads have mostly been cleared and supplies are being delivered. Recently 10,000 packets of military meals arrived in the area so the Salvation Army was able to distribute a five-day food supply to people, Perks said.
“That is so important. You can operate on people but if they don’t have something to eat they are not going to make it,” she said.
The Salvation Army also has a water purification system at the clinic so people have been able to get clean water, according to Perks. She said the organization is also trying to help reunite families who were separated in the earthquake.
The Springfield citadel’s emergency readiness team includes Perks, her husband and two other people who are trained to provide emotional and spiritual care. Perks said they have served at other disasters.
The Springfield team continues to collect donations for earthquake relief. Already it has received more than $1,000 in Western Massachusetts, and nationally the organization has raised $5 million. The Salvation Army has also sent equipment and supplies to aid in the earthquake relief effort, Perks said.